I really don't like the current state and implementation idea of activity streams. There, I said it. Now I can explain more about why.
IBM made a grand showing of integrating activity streams into the Notes client with the Social Edition and the expansion in IBM Connections with OpenSocial. However, they introduced this idea well over a year ago (below image from Feb 2011) with no traction. I believe that expanding capabilities is always a bonus for any product if it allows more adoption and usage.
I have been quite verbal since R1 and R2 of Lotus (now IBM) Connections about the easier inclusion of public services. Activity Streams are not what I had in mind. I feel that they will become a distraction more than a productivity tool.
By default, all the implementations of activity streams cause users to oversubscribe. This has happened in email lists, RSS feeds and even friends on Facebook. Oversubscription causes you to lose focus and no longer pay attention to any part of the stream. Look at Twitter and Facebook. In their natural state they become fairly useless since you miss a ton of data and cannot keep up unless you only watch the stream.
Once a user is oversubscribed (think tons of time working with projects, users, communities, email and more) the only way out is stream bankruptcy. Mass unsubscription from everything. Then the cycle repeats itself. No productivity is gained building the subscriptions, during the over subscription, during the bankruptcy and then the restart.
Filters are far more than being able to sort hundreds or thousands of threads that have come through, full text capability found in todays databases and email are a stating point. Email will not go away anytime in our future as IT administrators, there is too much history, information and workflow built in.
Users creating the inherent ability to share everything to a stream will also not become second nature. The intimate feel of email communication is a stop factor for many in tools like Twitter. Keep in mind the activity stream in Facebook is forced, not something the user does consciously. User need the structure and compartmentalized approach that databases, such as email, offer to be productive.
I do applaud innovation, integration, portfolio expansion and more than IBM has undertaken. I just don't think a full onslaught of activity streams will be easily adopted in a productive manner. Yes it is optional for everyone. I am talking about what they showed as the current tool state to be clear.
Copy.com offers 15GB free cloud storage to new accounts - link inside
Thu, May 16th 2013 12:06p Chris Miller I have been using Copy.com as an alternative to Dropbox for splitting work and personal storage. Right now Copy.com is offering 15GB free cloud storage for new accounts. The performance of the service on Copy.com has been great. Upload speeds have been quick and folder management easy. I am waiting on their mobile apps to be released to make it even better. All the sites offer different upgrades and enhancements like password protection of files, expiring shared links, and more. So why d [read] Keywords: mobile
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IamLUG 2013 Keynote replay now available
Tue, May 14th 2013 10:03a Chris Miller The IamLUG 2013 keynote with Louis Richardson of IBM and Kirk Bowman of Zipline is now available for replay on YouTube. Louis is an excellent storyteller and social whisperer that draws you in covering creative ideas. Kirk follows with making good social choices. This is an excellent keynote for technical and managers alike. Subscribe to all of the Spiked Studio / IdoNotes shows on YouTube. You can also subscribe to the keynote playlist and catch up on may user group keynote events. [read] Keywords: ibm
IBM.com Connections servers gets it first spammer
Sat, May 4th 2013 11:19p Chris Miller A large number of us received some spam notices from the IBM.com Connections server this past week. I was surprised to see this enter my stream and send my email notifications from the main IBM Connections environment: naomi bashir posted a message to you: naomi bashir Hello dear new friend, My name is Naomi Bashir a good looking girl.I have a special reason of contacting you which i will make known to you, Please write to my email address box: (bashirnaomi@yahoo.com)so that I will tell you [read] Keywords: connections
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IamLUG 2013 streaming keynote and more slots opened to register!
Thu, May 2nd 2013 1:45p Chris Miller IamLUG 2013 will be live streaming the keynote on the IamLUG channel on uStream. There are also new slots open to attend! Link to the live streaming blog post Link to the IamLUG uStream channel Additional slots have opened for IamLUG due to some late sponsor additions and a couple cancellations. If you have been debating coming to IamLUG 2013, for some strange reason, then grab one of the spots now. Two days of free event followed by TackItOn (optional) deep tech training from Teamstudio [read] Keywords:
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XPages Helthcare application was awesome
Thu, Apr 25th 2013 10:44a Chris Miller I was on the April 2013 monthly IBM Collaboration Solutions community webcast this week and was overly impressed by the XPages application demo from two IamLUG attendees! Our main speakers were community members Sam Bridegroom and Abby Butts, who explained the various ways that they have developed XPages applications for a non-profit healthcare system in Indiana to: 1) enhance patient care, 2) improve staff communication, and 3) integrate existing disparate systems. Especially impressive was ho [read] Keywords: collaboration
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Energizer LED Pop Up 360 Area Lantern with Light Fusion Technology review
Wed, Apr 24th 2013 10:18a Chris Miller The Energizer LED Pop Up 360 Area Lantern with Light Fusion Technology was bright with 150 lumens and was a very weak area light when on the lowest dimmable lamp setting. In mixed usage I got under 100 hours on a single set of 4 AA batteries. With the rubber case it is supposedly water resistant. I was a bit wary to test that but I can see where they put the rubber seal around the bottom near the batteries for added protection. With the rest being plastic, there is not much to damage. The ru [read] Keywords:
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Finding sanity, ViewAdmin2013 and Boston
Tue, Apr 23rd 2013 8:29a Chris Miller I landed on Monday afternoon into Boston for ViewAdmin 2013 in a very rushed, fast and hard landing on American Airlines. We all looked expectantly at each other in my row asking the WTF question. That was soon answered as we sat on the taxi way and everyone, I do mean almost everyone's, cellphones began ringing, vibrating and receiving text messages. You know the rest of this part of the story. With magic, WIS pulled off the ViewAdmin2013 conference with jumpstarts and three days of sessi [read] Keywords: security
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Replay for What’s New in IBM Domino Designer 9.0 now online
Wed, Apr 17th 2013 7:17a Chris Miller Watch the What's New in IBM Domino Designer 9.0 webcast replay with Paul Calhoun and Kathy Brown from Consultant In Your Pocket. Brought to you by IamLUG. Watch the replay and subscribe to the Consultant In Your Pocket playlist on YouTube or the entire IdoNotes channel. You can stream any previous webcast at the Consultant In Your Pocket site and on YouTube. Recent webcasts include: What's New in IBM Domino, Notes, Traveler and XWork Server 9.0 What's New in Notes, Domino, Traveler 8. [read] Keywords: domino
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Webcast tomorrow for What’s New in Domino Designer 9.0
Wed, Apr 10th 2013 10:55a Chris Miller Registration is still open for the webcast What's New in Domino Designer 9.0 on April 11 2013 at 10am CST. Join Consultant In Your Pocket with panelists Paul Calhoun of NNSU and Kathy Brown of PSC Group. Paul and Kathy will discuss What is New in Domino Designer 9. There are lots of improvements in Designer including new elements, new resources, and new help. New controls and classes have been added for XPages, including spell check for the CKEditor and ... server-side JavaScript debuggin [read] Keywords: domino
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